Parenthood First Full Season. Parenthood has NEVER gotten the respect it deserves and anyone who reads my blog or listens to my podcast knows, I have been screaming about people shunning Parenthood for years. From the lack of Emmy love to the weak scheduling of the show, Parenthood was the best show nobody gave respect to. But finally, some love has been throw Parenthood’s way!!! It received a full 22 season pick up and thankfully won’t be off the air by February. Last season was so amazing but the last few episodes were slightly disjointed because I think the writers didn’t have enough episodes to wrap up everything the way they needed to. Now they do and it sounds like we have some very juicy stories coming our way this season. I can’t wait!

Grimm Very Late Premiere. So last year, Grimm actually premiered in August right after the Olympics and had a massive mid-season break before it came back. Which I won’t lie, had me very nervous for the show but luckily has a solid following on Friday nights and was easily picked up for a 3rd season. This year, Grimm isn’t coming back until Oct 25th. I’m not sure why it’s coming back so late (although being paired with Dracula is a great idea for the new show.) So hopefully it won’t hurt the show.

The New Shows…Will This Be The Year They Stick? NBC has had a rough go of it. Last year The New Normal, 1600 Penn, Go On, Infamous, Do No Harm, Guys with Kids, Animal Practice all failed. I’m still stunning about how badly Go On crashed and burned after the mid-season break. The season before it was the disasters of Free Agents, The Playboy Club, Whitney, Prime Suspect, Are You There God, It’s Me Chelsea, Up All Night, Awake, Bent, and BFFs. Although I think both Bent and BFFs were given raw deals by not premiering until April and were much better shows than what premiered in the fall. In 2010, only one show made it to a second season (Harry’s Law) and that got canceled the next year. It’s amazing how bad it’s been. This year could be better. The Blacklist is buzzed as the best (or one of the best) new shows of the season. Dracula has some good buzz behind led by the amazing Jonathan Rhys Meyers. Michael J Fox is returning to NBC and a full-time TV role after some Emmy nominated seasons on The Good Wife. So can NBC finally get some shows to last?

EARLY THOUGHTS ON NEW SHOWS:

This is the year I decided not to watch any new shows ahead of time. It lost a little something for me when premiere week came around so no more early watching for me! However I did view promos for the all the shows so based on that limited scope and some reviews I read from people who did watch the pilots, here’s what I’m watching and avoiding….

#1 NBC new show: The Blacklist. I’ve never been the biggest James Spader fan. I can’t deny he’s a very good actor but he’s never done anything for me. This may be the show that gets me on the James Spader bandwagon. At first glance, The Blacklist reminded me of Silence of the Lambs…world renowned criminal uses FBI rookie in a battle of wits to solve crimes. But I think The Blacklist will be more than that. Especially since this is a TV show and not a 2 hour movie, there is room for the writers to really dive into these characters. Raymond Reddington (Spader) is a former government agent turned FBI most wanted criminal who turns himself into the FBI to help track down some of the world’s most elusive criminals. His one request, he will only work with FBI rookie profiler Elizabeth Keene (Megan Booth.) Why turn himself in? What’s his end game? What is the connection with Keene that he only wants to work with her? Many series arcing questions that should make this show strong for many seasons to come. The other big question is can Megan Booth hold her own with the big presence of Spader? Can she be the leading lady the show needs?

Also looking forward to: The Michael J. Fox Show, Dracula, and Sean Saves the World. I love Jonathan Rhys Meyers. If you’ve never seen The Tudors, Netflix it and watch it because it’s awesome and he drives the show. So with him as Dracula, there is no way I’m not watching. Plus I loved the book! I’m also a big Michael J. Fox fan. I have been since Family Ties. The clips I have seen of this show have been funny and entertaining. I like the premise and that they are incorporating the Parkinson’s into the show. My only fear is too many Parkinson jokes and leaning on that crutch too much. There have been mixed reviews about Sean Saves the World. Some people haven’t liked it and some people have been indifferent about it. I don’t think anyone has said they loved it. But I’m giving it a chance. I love Sean Hayes, Linda Lavin, and Echo Kellum. They reshot the pilot and now Megan Hilty is part of the cast. We’ll see what happens but I’m going to give the show a chance.

No interest in: Ironside, Welcome to the Family, and Million Second Quiz. Mike O’Malley deserves better than this show (Welcome to the Family), I’m already tired of the concept of rebooting old shows (Ironside), and who cares about a quiz…not me!